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Hi all, Look out for the new wildlife garden being built on Peckham Rye (old depot site behind the stream ) - beautifully designed and set out for young and old. It should be open soon but do have a look through the gates. It will be a another little gem for everyone to enjoy. Cheers.

Lynne, The whole shop and building has looked empty for many years but I think that it was either last year or the year before when there was a fire upstairs and it turned out that an elderly women, who lived in the whole building on her own, had accidentally started a fire. I got this info' from the manager of Franklin's. I don't think that she died in the fire of was seriously injured and some time after repairs were made to the roof and windows of the building. I'd be interested in knowing more of what happened too. Cheers.

Hi Worker, According to John D Beasley's 'Illustrated Alphabetical Guide to East Dulwich', published in 1997, Lacon (sounds like bacon) Road was named after one of the original terraces built there in 1874. The others were Blenheim Villa, Ethel Villa and Fir Park Terrace, but Lacon could have been a bishop's name, I have no more info' on it. Hope that this is helpful. Regards.

Hi caro ed and all, I had the 'loft insulation' company call at around 4.30 on Monday and, as I was in the middle of cooking, I was'nt very polite this time. It was a young, smartly dressed man with clipboard and company badge; he was a bit persistant but a bit of aggression soon put him off. Cheers.

I saw it too - sprayed with weedkiller instead of lawn tonic by mistake? Maybe someone will solve the mystery.

We had a water meter fitted last summer and they told us, after we got our first bill, that there must be a leak because our bills were high. Nine months later and we have had two lots of engineers call, messages telling us that leak would be repaired by Jan, then message telling us that we did'nt have one; told that bill will be put on hold then money being taken by direct debit anyway. Absolute chaos - hoping to get meter removed in June and back to normality! Will certainly check new water rates, thanks for the warning Ms B.

steveo, Brilliant photos - hope that you will get yourself some good prints of them. Great stuff, missed it myself. Cheers.

Hi intothegroove, Very pleased to hear about your book, my wife and I moved here in 1980 so it should be a very interesting read. We will be requesting that Southwark Libraries stock the book so that it will be available to as many people in the borough as possible. Good luck, I hope that the book proves popular and that you get some good reviews.

reggie, Superb track and great artwork - Peter Blake (it's that good)? I wonder if the street parties will be as abysmal as last year's for the Royal Wedding? Cheers.

wonderwomen, This sounds just like the scam that happened to some friends of mine last year - them and their friends and contacts on the friend's e-mail list got this panic message "send money, have been robbed!", or something to this effect. Unfortunately for the crooks, one of the addressees was the neighborhood Police officer who rumbled it straight away. Sadly though, it took a long time to get the matter sorted and it ended up that our friends had to get a new PC costing ?300 - so beware! All the best.

buntysammy, I am very sorry to read what happened to you, you have my deepest sympathy. I have only been robbed once; unfortunately bolts on front sash window were'nt adequate and burglar got into front room and stole some pricey items but did'nt explore the rest of the house. Now security 'beefed' up. However, I am one of these nosey old retired people who spends a lot of time at home watching what goes on down the street, so be assured there's quite a few of us around to help with the situation. Kind regards.

Hello, I agree in some ways with this; I saw a post to James Barber once saying something to the effect that 'your name and truth don't go together in one sentence' - that's strong stuff and pretty offensive. I would have thought that that tone of message was not acceptable on this forum. I was involved with him on a local planning issue last year and he seemed decent and considerate to me. Regards,

pipsky2008, I think that you probably read some of what I posted on this subject under 'Peckham Rye One O' Clock Club'. There were a lot of mixed messages about this issue, some people blamed the architects and others the contractors; my view is that Southwark council should have ensured that this scheme was completed in working order and represented good value for OUR MONEY. It is interesting to note that the designers, EGER Architects, no longer have any reference to this project on their website - I wonder why? My view is that ever if you take this matter up with the two councillors that had their photos taken for the opening of the playground (can't remember their names) you would'nt get very far. I was at the One O' Clock with my Grandson today and in spite for the good work of the fine staff there it is beginning to get to look neglected. All of the shutters were closed on the windows, because there was a break in and the keys were stolen and some of the fluorescent lights were out and needed fixing. Sadly, I was told that no funding was available to remedy either and yet just outside is that glaring waste of money - the uphill play river. Our money up the drain! Regards.

Hi, This is my final post on this thread, as I think I've made enough comments. I recently looked up the Civil Aviation Authority website and sent an e-mail to their contact section; I got a reply immediately which was very polite and very detailed. It seems that the local authority have no control over this matter and there is not regulation of the times of flights by airlines. Airlines could fly planes over ED for 24 hour a day if they wanted to but have restricted their flight times at their own discretion. As for actual volume of noise, I believe that you can complain in extreme circumstances. Meanwhile, we in ED will have to continue to cope with being on a very busy flight path as planes are stacked over the Bigging Hill area, then made their way to Heathrow, via the air space over south east London (us). Roll on Boris' new airport! Regards and thanks to all - I think that you had the best suggestion ibilly99.

Vilmos, I totally agree with you about those monstrous people in our world with no culture, no sense of decency and no moral values -- they're called bankers. Oh, and there's another group too, with a different name -- big tax dodgers. However, I do despise the people that stole this work as they have taken away a great piece of Art that was owned and loved by the community and could be enjoyed by anyone for free. There have been more revolting acts; for example the killing and maiming of the animals in the children's zoo at Crystal Palace Park some years ago - quite sickening. Regards, with respect.

A very happy Christmas to you both and to all the other folks who I have some interesting discussions with this year. My rants this year were; aircraft noise, Free Schools, bad service and ageism in local shops, the new playground on Peckham Rye and how insurance companies deal with subsidence - phew, quite a lineup and thanks to everyone who got involved. Kind regards.

I am in a position whereby Southwark's fifteen-year-old tree, outside, is causing the front of the house (and garden wall)to crack. It has got much worse over the last three hot summers and now the fabric of the front of building could be damaged by forthcoming winter weather. After making a claim two years ago with the insurers (Churchills via Nationwide Building) and having a report made, soil tests etc Southwark have done nothing to remove the tree. Our underwriters now tell us that Southwark make prefer to leave the tree in place (because they don't like residents seeing them cut down trees) and I will have to have house underpinned. Having told us this, they advised that Southwark will do what they want to, when they want to do and we will have to just hang on for them to decide. Given the thought of possible underpinning and future insurance cover problems, many thanks to all for the advice given on this thread. Regards.

Too sophisticated for Turner Prize. Anyway, prize has just been won by Artist producing upside down park benches and wonky litter bins; ideal candidate for Southwark council though, judging by new Peckham Rye playground with 'Play River' that runs uphill.

SCSB79, Yes the noise really does bother me. I am trying to make the point that I have a quiet place to live in a side street with very little traffic noise and I do remember when we had the deafening Concorde flights a couple of times a day, but now there is no break from the sound all day. In spite of statistic quoted above, I know from living here for so long that it's never been this bad - that's a fact. There is no answer to it, it is just part of the world that we live in. Regards,

SteveUK1978, I am sorry that I might have made my point about aircraft noise in an unclear way. What I was trying to express is the fact that if an air ambulance, rushing to save someone's life, wakes me up at 6.30 on a dark winter's morning then I am willing to accept that this is a necessary inconvenience. On the other hand, should airlines consider the impact that their business makes on peoples lives? Since I moved her, I don't remember any airlines or the CAA warning us in ED that they would increase flights making the noise constant, most days of the year. It seems that we just don't count in the scheme of things, but maybe this new airport would be their answer to helping us all. Cheers, with respect.

Pantalaimon, I am sorry to learn that you have just moved here and now the aircraft noise is upsetting you. I have lived in ED for 31 years now and I am absolutely certain that the noise is now at it's worse - it drives me potty now. Someone also posted some statics on this thread which prove this too. I spent time working at home now and I can tell you that on most days flights start at around 6.30am, or earlier, continue at a rate of 30-40/hour, every hour,(less than 2mins each),until around 10.30pm. So we now have about 15 hours of pretty much continuous noise most days. What can we do - not a lot - there is a campaign called HACAN, so look for their website? Southwark can do nothing and told me to contact the CAA. Sadly, we have a situation in which private airlines can carry on making money for themselves whilst we have no right to silence during the day. If you have garden in this area now, it's pointless trying to sit out there in the summer, unless you take up plane spotting and become a bit of an Anorak (like me)! Cheers.

Hi ibilly99, Yes, we moved here in 1980 and my wife remembers that story very well - a true story we believe. We think that Selma is right to say that it was near Tyrell Road because only those houses have basements. Does anyone remember the old lady that had a little shop in Upland Road, opposite the current second hand shop and near the corner of Darryl Road? The shop has since been converted to a house after she left and later passed away, but she lived in a flat above at the time. She was a psychic who many people travelled miles to see and bred dozen of poodles. Her husband was Indian and died from mercury poisoning. The shop had a display of weird and wonderful books and objects, quite a curiosity at the time. Cheers.

Councillor Hamvas, I'm slightly concerned to learn that there is talk of commissioning a new building for the One O'Clock Club considering how badly the new playground project was managed. We may end up with rainwater pipes pointing upwards! It's very unfair to blame Conway contractors for the Play River error that will probably never be corrected. The architects should have supervised the works at every stage (that's what they get fees for) and got the design right in the first place. Why not use the vast sums needed for a new building to be spent on running it in the existing one? Regards,

By the way folks, I believe good old Mary Portas' company 'Yellow Door'did a lot of work on Westfield at Shepherds Bush. You know her; the one on TV showing us all how to look after and rejuvenate small local shops that are sooo important to the community! A world away from that hell hole in west London. Cheers.

Well done 'The Goose Is Out' for coming up a great idea! Monica - do you have any plans of the garden yet and where is the site exactly? Cheers.